No area teams get byes; only Argos draws team it faces during regular season
BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS
Sports Editor, RTC
The Rochester and Eastern (Greentown) boys basketball teams have never played before, but that will change in nine days when the IHSAA boys basketball tournament begins.
That’s because the Zebras and Comets drew each other in a Class 2A, Sectional 38 quarterfinal at Wabash at 6 p.m. March 4, according to the draw revealed Sunday.
In fact, the area theme was that no area team received a bye. In addition, only Argos, who drew Trinity Greenlawn in Class 1A, Sectional 51, will face a team it has already played during the regular season.
Sectionals will be held from March 4-8, regionals are March 15, semistates are March 22, and the four state championship games will be played March 29 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Sectional tickets are $7 per session. Prices go up to $10 for regionals, $12 for semistates and $15 per session for the state finals.
Here is a closer look at the draw.
Rochester
Rochester has played in the boys basketball state tournament since its inception in 1911, and Eastern opened its doors in 1951, but the schools have never met in boys basketball.
Eastern is 10-11 on the season, but they do not have a win over a team with a winning record. In addition, Eastern has lost to two teams that Rochester has beaten – Southwood and Northfield.
Coach Dr. Brad Lindsay returned to coaching at Eastern three years ago after leaving coaching and spending over 20 years in school administration – he is the former superintendent of Marion Community Schools – and has posted a 32-36 record thus far.
While Eastern does not have any wins over teams with winning records, Rochester has one, an 11-point win at Winamac Dec. 6.
The Rochester-Eastern winner will play No. 3 Manchester, who received a bye, in the semifinals March 7. Manchester (18-2) will be seeking its first sectional title since 1995.
In the other half of the draw, Lewis Cass will play Wabash in a quarterfinal at 7:30 p.m. March 4 with the winner to meet Oak Hill in the semifinals March 7.
Oak Hill is 14-6. Lewis Cass and Wabash are a combined 4-37.
Tippecanoe Valley
Valley, who extended their winning streak to 11 with weekend wins over Huntington North and Kokomo, will play West Noble in a Class 3A, Sectional 20 quarterfinal at NorthWood at 6 p.m. March 4.
While Valley has been hot, West Noble has lost five in a row and currently stands at 8-12. They have scored fewer than 50 points in all five of those games, and Valley’s smothering defense is eighth in the state in defensive scoring average at 40.2.
Valley has not played West Noble since a 60-55 win March 1, 2022, in a sectional quarterfinal.
The Valley-West Noble survivor will play Wawasee, who received a bye, in the semifinals. Wawasee is 6-15 and currently on a four-game losing streak.
In the other half of the bracket, host NorthWood drew Columbia City with the winner to meet Fairfield. No. 6 NorthWood has both a 13-point win over Columbia City and a 26-point win over Fairfield to its credit during the regular season. Fairfield is the defending regional champion.
NorthWood has won the sectional the last five times it has hosted the sectional. It has not lost a sectional game at the Panther Pit since losing to Lakeland in the 2009 sectional semifinals.
Caston, Pioneer
Caston drew DeMotte Christian in a Class 1A, Sectional 50 quarterfinal at Tri-County at 7:30 p.m. March 4.
Due to sectional realignment, DeMotte Christian is one of two reigning sectional champions in the Sectional 50 field. Tri-County, who beat Caston in last year’s sectional final, is the other.
Still, DeMotte Christian has fallen off from 19 wins last year to nine this year. Only West Central and Pioneer have winning records in the sectional; at 10-10, Caston has the third-best record.
Caston and DeMotte Christian have not played since a 65-34 loss to the Knights in the 2018 sectional semifinals in Carl Davis’ first season as coach.
The DeMotte Christian-Caston winner will face the South Newton-West Central winner in the semifinals.
West Central has increased their win total from four last year to 14 this year, and that includes wins over South Newton, DeMotte Christian and Caston.
In the other half of the bracket, Pioneer drew North Newton in the second quarterfinal at 7:30 p.m. March 5. The Tri-County-North White quarterfinal will precede it.
Pioneer has not played North Newton since they met in a holiday tournament game at Pioneer Dec. 23, 2011.
North Newton has not won a sectional title since 1978, and they have won only one sectional game since 2007. They are 2-18 so far this season and in the midst of a five-game losing streak.
Pioneer will finish its regular season with a road trip to Tri-County this Friday. They beat North White 46-18 Saturday.
Argos, Culver
Culver (2-18) doubled its win total on the season with a 40-21 win over Tri-Township Friday and will look to further its momentum as it gets set to meet Elkhart Christian in a Class 1A, Sectional 51 quarterfinal at North Judson at 6:30 p.m. March 4.
Elkhart Christian is only 8-12 as the follow-up after winning the first regional title in school history last season.
Culver and Elkhart Christian have not met since a 61-39 Elkhart Christian win in the 2018 sectional semifinals at Culver.
The Elkhart Christian-Culver winner will meet the Oregon-Davis-Triton winner in the semifinals. No. 7 Triton (18-3) is the only ranked team in the sectional, and they beat Oregon-Davis 61-13 in their season opener. They also have two wins over Culver this year.
In the other half of the bracket, Argos, who lost back-to-back overtime games over the weekend to North Judson and Jimtown, will meet Trinity Greenlawn at 6:30 p.m. March 5 in a quarterfinal.
That will be a rematch of a Jan. 7 game at Phil Weybright Gymnasium that Trinity Greenlawn won 56-49.
Trinity Greenlawn is second in the state in defensive scoring average – sectional rival Triton is No. 1 – at 35.9, and only three teams exceeded the 49 points Argos scored in the first meeting.
Trinity Greenlawn is 13-6, but they do not have a win over a team with a winning record.
The Argos-Trinity Greenlawn winner will meet the South Central (Union Mills)-North Judson winner in the semifinals. North Judson beat South Central 52-50 in overtime Dec. 14. North Judson is a defending regional champion in Class 2A, but they have slipped from 16 wins last year to nine this year.
Winamac
Winamac will look to stop a 10-year sectional drought when it travels to Jimtown for Class 2A, Sectional 34.
Its first opponent is South Bend Career Academy, a team that Winamac is 2-0 against all-time. The wins came in holiday tournament games in December 2020 and December 2021. They have never played in a state tournament game before.
Winamac is 13-8, and the 13 wins are already their most since the 2018-19 season. South Bend Career Academy is 1-20 and in the midst of a nine-game losing streak.
The Winamac-Career Academy prevailer will face Bremen, who received a bye, in the semifinals. Bremen is 10-10 and seeking their first sectional title since 1999.
In the other half of the draw, LaVille will face Jimtown with the winner to meet Knox. Jimtown is 4-0 against other teams in the sectional, including conference wins over LaVille, Knox and Bremen.
LaVille, whose most recent sectional title came in 2020, is the only team in the sectional who has won a sectional in the last nine years.
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